Czech Republic

Palestinian and Romani hiphop artists: "Rap is the CNN of ordinary people"

20.7.2015 2:46 Three weeks ago the "Days of Jerusalem" festival was held in the Czech cities of Prague and Plzeň, an event which for several years has presented the culture of this divided Middle Eastern City. Organizers included an appearance by Palestinian rapper Muhammad Mughrabi on this year's rich program.  full story

Czech Republic: Anti-immigration protesters set EU flags on fire

19.7.2015 21:39 Yesterday right-wing extremists backing organizer Adam B. Bartoš marched on the Office of the Government in Prague after 19:00 chanting "Traitors!". The building was guarded by police and metal barricades as the radicals gave speeches.  full story

Czech Interior Minister: Islamophobic populists using same methods as ultra-right

19.7.2015 4:16 The Czech Interior Ministry anticipates that anti-immigration and populist Islamophobic organizations will increase their activities and that their themes will be more actively taken up by "traditional right-wing extremists". The ministry's predictions are part of its report on the development of extremism during the second quarter of this year.  full story

Czech Police audit says officers proceeded correctly at demonstration with mock-ups of gallows

19.7.2015 2:43 Police officers on duty during the 1 July demonstration against immigration in Prague did not make a mistake when they took no action against demonstrators carrying mock-ups of gallows. Yesterday Czech Police spokesperson Tomáš Hulan confirmed to the Czech News Agency that an investigation by the Regional Police Internal Affairs Department has absolved the officers.  full story

Czech Republic: Only minor incidents at today's competing protests over immigration

18.7.2015 22:16 In the center of Prague on Wenceslas Square today there were different events organized by those opposed to immigration and by those expressing solidarity with refugees. The most dramatic situation occurred at around 19:00 at the bottom of the Square.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister: We do not want the fascisization of society

18.7.2015 21:06 Today in Prague two demonstrations are underway by those opposed to receiving refugees in the Czech Republic. At 15:00 an assembly began at the statue of St. Václav and at 17:00 a "People's Camp" of right-wing extremists began demanding the immediate closure of the borders and the withdrawal of the Czech Republic from the EU.  full story

Czech Republic: NGO starts risky recording studio on edge of Romani ghetto

18.7.2015 18:00 On the border between Brno's Romani ghetto and the "normal" city center, a recording studio full of energy and symbolism is slated to begin growing on the premises of a former gaming room. "There are other ways to play" is one of the slogans accompanying the studio's vision.  full story

Czech capital won't allow second demonstration against xenophobia because of timing clash with anti-immigrant event

16.7.2015 23:24 The City of Prague has refused permission to a second assembly in support of receiving refugees announced for this Saturday on Wenceslas Square. The space requested had previously been reserved.  full story

Czech Republic: HateFree Culture project refutes online hoaxes about refugees

15.7.2015 16:33 HateFree Culture, a project that is part of the Czech Government's campaign against hate violence and racism, has issued the following press release:  full story

Czech Republic's Wenceslas Square to see three protests on the immigration issue this Saturday

14.7.2015 23:08 Those opposed to receiving refugees in the Czech Republic are heading for the center of Prague this Saturday, as are those who want to express solidarity with immigrants. There will be three separate events at various places along Wenceslas Square during the afternoon of the 18th.  full story

Czech trial of priest accused of sexually molesting Romani children to resume next month

14.7.2015 22:09 On 15 June the trial began at the Přerov District Court of Catholic priest Vladimír Krejsa on charges of sexually molesting children in Přerov. The 64-year-old clergyman from the Přerov area, who is retired and no longer working as a priest, used to visit a Romani community in a troubled locality near the train station.  full story

Czech Museum of Romani Culture presents silent film from 1923 featuring Roma character

14.7.2015 5:17 On Thursday, 16 July, the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno will present an extraordinary cultural experience. The museum will screen a unique silent film by Václav Kubásek from 1923, "Bewitching Eyes" (Čarovné oči), accompanied by live music performed by the band The Harmonic Play.  full story

Czech Labor Offices awarding housing benefits to more than half of all applicants

13.7.2015 23:07 Apparently thousands of new homeless people will not be created by municipalities in the Czech Republic after all. At least not for now.  full story

Czech Interior Ministry anticipates up to 7 000 to enter illegally next year

13.7.2015 22:17 The Czech Interior Ministry anticipates that next year anywhere between 5 000 and 7 000 immigrants will enter the country illegally. This year approximately 3 500 such entries are expected total.  full story

Infamous Czech right-wing extremist plays a Nazi in a new film

13.7.2015 7:06 In a film by director Filip Renč that is currently in production, one of the Nazis is played by an infamous face on the Czech neo-Nazi scene, Jaromír Pytel. The Club of Military History of the "White Power European Patriots" (WPEP) has published photographs on its Facebook profile of Pytel with the director and added a text stating that Pytel's club has signed a contract with the production.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani journalist starts media "incubator"

12.7.2015 23:22 "Young Roma have a lot to say about what is going on around them. However, they come up against the fact that they are unable to express their opinions in such a way as to be able to participate in a public debate, and frequently they never have the room to present their opinions about matters other than inter-ethnic coexistence," says Věra Lacková, the author of the "Media Voice" program in the Czech Republic.  full story

Czech Labor Ministry says homelessness will not rise because of housing benefit ambiguity

11.7.2015 18:27 The Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry issued a press release at the end of June on the current situation regarding the disbursal of housing benefits. News server Romea.cz publishes it in full below, followed by a response from the Union of Cities and Municipalities.  full story

Czech Republic: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival features dramas about Roma

10.7.2015 23:50 Peter Baláž, a former Olympic athlete and boxing champion many times over, has played himself in a melancholy boxing film by Ivan Ostrochovský called "Koza" (Goat). Baláž was present on 6 July for the screening of the film in the Grand Thermal Hall at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.  full story

Czech Justice Ministry offers unused building with 580 beds for refugees

10.7.2015 20:06 The Czech Justice Ministry can provide a building in Vyšní Lhoty (Frýdek-Místek district) for the reception of refugees. The ministry had originally considered turning the facility into a prison but would like to use it as a refugee center instead.  full story

Czech mayor disagrees with study finding an excluded locality in his town

10.7.2015 17:20 On 3 July the Mayor of Milovice, ing. Milan Pour, posted his official standpoint on the town's website about the results of the recent Analysis of Socially Excluded Localities in the Czech Republic, a research project commissioned by the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry and produced by the GAC, s.r.o. company. The mayor's statement says that the factual extent of the area which might be considered excluded does not provide a basis for including Milovice among towns with socially excluded localities, as "this concerns a part of town where approximately 160 -180 persons showing signs of social exclusion live".  full story